


You've only to say goodnight

by Kittywu



Category: Free!
Genre: Drabble, M/M, Post episode 10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 12:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2310149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittywu/pseuds/Kittywu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Stay.”<br/>It wasn’t an order, it was not a plea. It was a word, breathed into the air of their room. It floated through the air, a delicate snowflake.<br/>The look that Rin gave him was confused – and why shouldn’t he be – but it got even more confused when Sousuke mustered all his courage and grabbed a hold of Rin’s arm. When he pulled him back despite his ridiculously beating heart. And when he, finally, placed his other hand onto Rin’s cheek.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You've only to say goodnight

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this thing is from the Marble Sounds Song "Sky High".

The room was filled with the soft sound of Rin breathing. He was probably sound asleep by now – exhausted by an eventful day and his muscles fatigued from his races. Sousuke should be asleep too, but there was a lot going through his head. He thought about Rin’s face when he had found out about his shoulder and about how the relay had felt like. Restless, he turned around again in his bunk.

“Sousuke?” Rin’s voice was soft and quiet, but he didn’t sound like he just woke up. He sounded more like he had been awake all along and finally decided to see if Sousuke was as well.  
“You can’t sleep?”, he whispered. He was careful not to speak too loud so that he wouldn’t wake up anyone in the neighbouring rooms. It was already past two am and the last thing he wanted was that someone would complain about them.  
“I was thinking about today and about all the stuff you told me earlier”, he said.

Sousuke couldn’t see him, but judged by the sound of his voice, he had something important to say. He bit his lip, patiently waiting for something like ‘the whole I wanted to be your friend was a bit over the top’ coming from the bottom bunk. And so he stared at the ceiling and tried to say “Yeah, me too” as indifferent as possible.

“You really are an idiot”, was all that Rin said. Sousuke blinked twice and waited for the red haired boy to continue. “You risked your health, you risked never being able to swim again! And you did all that so you could swim with me. Was it actually worth the pain?”

_Was it worth the pain?_

For him, that wasn’t a question to ask. He didn’t care about the pain, about the risks, as long as he could spend time with Rin. The pain in his shoulder might be suffocating from time to time, but when he could hear Rin breathing steadily from the bunk below him, it let him breathe as well. When he thought about the future that he might have had, it didn’t matter to him when he saw how Rin got closer to fulfilling this dream.

“Every single second”, he answered with the smile that always crept its way onto his face when he spent too many moments thinking about his childhood rival – no, friend. And he was glad that the latter couldn’t see it.

“You really are an idiot then, Sousuke.” But it sounded like he was smiling too.

Soon, they fell back into silence. What would Sousuke give to not only hear Rin breathe, but to lie next to him, watching how his chest gently rose and fell? And even then, it would feel like he wasn’t close enough because he couldn’t trail his hand through strands of red hair. Because he couldn’t place a gentle kiss onto Rin’s temple, watching how he was sound asleep.

“Hey, what are you thinking right now?”, Rin whispered after a while.

Should he tell the truth? Should he tell him that his thoughts completely revolved around him? That every single second of his day, he thought about Rin, no matter what he was doing? Would that be too much?

So he decided to say nothing instead.

He remained silent until he heard the rustling of the bunk beds and then, blurred by the darkness, he could make out the outline of a head peaking over the barrier of his bunk. “Don’t think that you get out of this so easily”, Rin said. Maybe a little cheeky, maybe Sousuke was making things up. But even though it was dark in their room, it looked like there was a smirk on the other male’s face.

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Rin made his way inside of Sousuke’s bed. If he hadn’t scooched over closer to the wall, Rin would have sat down on him. “As if that’s everything you have on your mind” Rin smirked.

This time, Sousuke was sure. The other face was so close that he could see every feature of it. The moonlight fell through the window onto his hair and made it shine and drew shadows from his nose. There was so much more on his mind. So many things that he couldn’t bring himself to say.

He didn’t even notice that he had been spacing out while staring at Rin’s face.

“Alright then, let’s talk tomorrow. I guess you’re too tired to talk”, he heard Rin say while he playfully punched Sousuke’s arm. He didn’t want him to go back into his bunk.

“Stay.”

It wasn’t an order, it was not a plea. It was a word, breathed into the air of their room. It floated through the air, a delicate snowflake.

The look that Rin gave him was confused – and why shouldn’t he be – but it got even more confused when Sousuke mustered all his courage and grabbed a hold of Rin’s arm. When he pulled him back despite his ridiculously beating heart. And when he, finally, placed his other hand onto Rin’s cheek.

It was now or never.

So he guided Rin’s face closer to his and the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was how Rin did the same. Their mouths met, maybe for a second or two and Sousuke felt like he was drowning. He was drowning in that moment, in that kiss, drowning in Rin. He missed the feeling of his soft lips on his own when they parted. He wanted to kiss him again and again, he never wanted to stop drowning.

“You…”, Rin was blushing. There was no mistaking, even though Sousuke couldn’t see the colour of his face. But their faces were so close, he could feel the heat radiating from the other. Maybe it was his own heat as well. “You kissed me”, he said that more to himself, as if he wanted to make it more or less true by speaking it out.

“I did.” And then he kissed him again. This time longer, because he felt Rin’s hand gently caressing his neck and hair. His own hand was still holding Rin’s arm, so he carefully moved and placed it on Rin’s waist.

“You are an idiot”, Rin whispered as they parted again. But he was smiling. “Make me some room in here”, he ordered and laid down again, his head on Sousuke’s chest, his legs entangled with Sousuke’s. The only thing that was left for him to do was to pull out the cover from the space between him and the wall and to tuck them both in. His hand trailed through the strands of red hair that tickled his neck and chin.

“Good night, Rin”, the words were barely audible, he murmured them into his hair while he softly kissed the other male’s head.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank [Niamh](http://freckledkneesus.tumblr.com/) for motivating me to write this <3  
> Also, happy birthday Sousuke! ^w^


End file.
